Improvement in locks for railroad cars



` PATENTED AUG 8 '1871 OFFICE.

CHARLES T. GIBSON, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN LOCKS FOR RAILROAD CARS.v

Specication forming part of Letters Patent N o. 117,764, dated August 8,1871.

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, CHARLns T. GIBSON, of the city and county ofBaltimore and State of Maryland, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Locks for Railroad Freightllars; and I do hereby declarethat the .following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,reference being had to the accompanying drawing making part of thisspeeication, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of the lock-caseand bolt. Fig. 2 is a view of the lock mechanism, showing the hookeddogs locked and retaining the notched bar. "Fig: 3 is a similar view ofthe same parts shown in Fig. 2, indicating the dogs unlocked. Figs. 4show the sliding dogplate.

Similar letters of reference indicate'correspond? ing part-s in theseveral igures.

This invention relates to imliirovements on locks which are designed forthe doors of railway freight-cars, wherein two vibrating hooked dogs areemployed as the means for locking a bar or bolt over a hasp.

. These locks, as hitherto constructed, can be easily picked byinserting a thin strip of metal into them and pressing back the dogs.

To obviate this objection, the nature of myinvention consists inconnecting the pivoted dogs to a sliding plate which is acted upon bythe key and timbers, and also by the bolt or notch-bar, as will behereinafter explained.

The following' description of my invention will enable others skilled inthe art to understand it.

In the accompanying drawing,'Fig. 1, A represents the lock-case; B, anextension thereof; and Af, a guide for receiving a notched bar or bolt,O. On the iiat extension B an elevatioma, is formed for entering anoblong slot made thro ugh the hasp of the lock. These parts above namedare ofthe well-known form, and are not claimed by me. The lock-case Areceives the lock mechanism which is applied to the back plate D, asshown in Figs. 2 and 3. F F are two hooked dogs, which are pivoted toposts g g arranged on opposite sides oi' a slide, E. This slideE isshown by Figs. 4 detached from the plate D. It is a curved plate havinga thickened concave portion, c, formed on its lower end, and arectangular projection, c', rising perpendicularly from its surface nearits upper end. An oblong slot, t, is made through it near the middle ofits length for receiving the post o of frame-plate h, and serving, inconjunction with a stud, o, to guide and keep in place the slide E. Justin rear of the concave thickened portion c of the said slide, and onopposite sides of the middle of the width thereof, are two oblong holes,a a, which receive pins f f on the dogs F F, and so connect the dogs to'the slide that they all three move together. The

slide cannot be moved without the dogs, nor the latter without theformer. The lower concave end of the slide E is directly opposite theopening through the lock-case through which the arrow-head c of the boltor bar C enters this case. Between the plate h and the back plate D anumber of tumblers, s, is applied and pivoted to the post o. Thesetumblers s are acted upon by springs t', and they are notched to receivethe rectangular stud c when the dogs are unlocked, as shown in Fig. 3.When the dogs are brought together on the arrow-head of the bolt (l, as

` shown in Fig. 2, the upper ends of the tumblers move beneath the stude', which locks the dogs and prevents their hooked ends from beingseparated so as to release the head of bolt O. A spring, j, is appliedto a post on plate D so as to bear against one edge ofthe slide E, and,by its friction, prevent any loose motion of this slide. This springjmay be dispensed with, if desired, and I do not confine my invention toits use.

When the arrow-head c on bolt G is pressed forcibly against the lowerend of the slide E this slide will rise, and, at the same time, bringtogether the hooked ends of the two vibrating dogs F F, which hookedends will be received into the notches in the upper end of the bolt C 5at the same time the springs t will force the upper ends of the tumblerss beneath the stud e on the slide E, thus locking the slide and its dogsso that they cannot be again moved without first bringing all v thenotches in the tumblers to register' with said stud c by means of thekey.

I do not claim a slide and dogs combined, when the dogs are disconnectedfrom the slide, tripped by the slide, and held in position by springswhich act upon the dogs, as shown in Henry Ritchies patent of April7,1857; nor do I claim the combination of a slide and dogs in a lock lwhich is not self-locking, as is the ease in the to the plete D et g gand t0 the slde'E et ff, patents grantedto E. L. Gaylord, September 3,and the tumbler-s s arranged es described, and 1867, and to Walsh,Connelly, and Brett, Deeemthe bolt C operating by direct pressure uponthe ber 2l, 1869. slide, substantially as set forth.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to CHARLES T. GIBSON. secure byLetters Patent, is- Witnesses:

The slide E, constructed zuid arranged as de WM. J. KING,

scribed, the inwardly-hooked dogs F F pivoted WVM. A. STAYLOR.

